Imitating Life Designing with biomimicry

(SciToons, 2017)

Now we're going to make a 'before-after' collage of nature-inspired inventions and the natural thing that inspired them using Canva Collage Maker.

Pick a template that lets you fit lots of images onto the page, but don't spend too long choosing. Using the videos that we've seen already as well as watching at least one of the following about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge, assemble a page of at least five ideas (10 images). 

• Aboriginal Sustainability

• True Tracks: create a culture of innovation with Indigenous knowledge

• Indigenous knowledge has value

Annotate each pair (that is, add text), outlining the particular analogy transfer - that is, what in particular has been borrowed from nature to use in the new invention. 

When you have finished, add your name to the collage, save it as a JPEG and then upload it to this GOOGLE FOLDER.

Now take some time to have a look at other students' collages and the examples they have chosen.

Now we're going to have a look at the biomimicry design spiral. The biomimicry design spiral outlines a process using biomimicry to get from the very early stages of design to a finished product (and beyond). This sort of process will be familiar to you, having looked at the design thinking process (remember Empathise, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test).

We will come back to it every lesson from now on, but for now, have a look at the first two terms: 

You will probably be familiar with the term 'DEFINE'. In this context, it means come up with a problem that you want to find a biomimicry solution to. 

How about the term 'BIOLOGIZE'? Think-pair-share with the person next to you and see if you can come up with a definition (hint: BIOLOGIZE might have something to do with biology).